Influence of the granulometric composition of silica sand on the glass formation process in flat glass technology

The effect of granulometric composition of silica sand from the Lenindar deposit (Republic of Belarus) on glass-formation processes during the Na₂O–MgO–CaO–SiO₂ glass system synthesis was studied. The data were obtained on influence of different fractions of silica sand on the sequence of processes occurring during the batch heat treatment and the dissolution rate of silica grains which determines the duration of glass formation. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the influence of temperature and time modes of the heat treatment on the grain sizes of residual silica and the degree of melt homogeneity at the glass formation stage. Based on the data of electron probe microanalysis, the rate and time of dissolution of silica grains of different fractional composition in the glass-forming melt were calculated. The results of glass formation processes monitoring and the quality of flat glass revealed that the usage of the expanded silica sand fractional composition is possible. This composition can include the grains of 0.8–1.25 mm in size when the glass melting proceeds in high-performance furnaces. That will allow more rational use of limited resources of this raw material.

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